Over in the JCO flash analysis thread, I started typing up an example of using PRCO analysis to help with writing a scene. I decided to make a new thread as it fits more under writing than analysis, and I thought it might be useful.
I may have mentioned this before, but I had one scene that just wasn’t working, where the MC had all this strange confidence that was helping him get through an interrogation without spilling the beans. The confidence was imbued by a sci-fi mechanism that he didn’t know about.
But the scene was falling flat until I analysed it and realized it was NOT supposed to be confidence, but a strange, utter indifference (Inaction). I only figured that out because the Protection was coming across so strongly. Anyway, tweaking it slightly to make him feel oddly uncaring and passive made all the difference in the world. (The other elements were Proaction – the interrogator trying to provoke him into giving something away; and Reaction, which was the Outcome – the MC eventually screws up by reacting to a physical provocation.)
Someday I’ll do a blog post with quotes from the scene!
Oh, in case you’re scared of PRCO… I think just identifying the quad is usually helpful enough – I don’t think you always need to be certain about which elements are Potential, Resistance, Current, Outcome, but it can be fun and sometimes very enlightening to try. I sometimes just guess at them, especially when I’m not done the scene.